The Freak and the Jedi

Prologue

Hawkins Middle School, 1983

"Hey, it's me," I looked down at my dirty shoes, kicking the dirt around. "Sorry I'm calling now, a few things came up at home," I closed my eyes, silently exhaling away from the phone.

"Everything alright? I can come over," his voice was breathy, quiet. Anxious.

I shook my head quickly. "No, no, it's fine," tears were slowly gathering in my eyes. "I'm not even home right now."

"I can tell it's not. Did I do something wrong? Where are you?" I could feel his lips trembling, even from the distance. Very few people knew him with his guard down, and he was about to lose one of them.

"No, Eddie, you did nothing wrong, you've done everything right," I braced myself. "I just... I don't think we should see each other anymore."

Eddie was silent for a few minutes. I was covering my mouth with my hand, preventing loud sobs from escaping. My head and my heart were both hurting, aching for the boy on the other line. I knew I was doing the right thing, protecting him. But I couldn't ignore the hollow feeling in my chest as I thought about life without him.

"But why? Baby please, tell me what's wrong," Eddie cried. His room was silent, the only sound coming from his voice. The silence hurt even more. I wished I could've held him, just one last time.

I looked up at the night sky, the stars bright and mocking at my despair. I could hear Hopper calling for Joyce on the other side of the building, driving off in his truck in search of Will. Nancy had run away from the gym as soon as El had delivered the news about Barb. I had been worried sick every day for Dustin, wondering what would be of us if he also disappeared. Even though I had seen things that were impossible, I could only think back to the night Will was taken, wondering where I'd be, what I'd have done, had Dustin been the one gone. I couldn't let Eddie be the next.

"Listen, Eddie, so many things are happening right now," it felt good not to lie, at least partially. "I need to take care of my brother, I have to be there for them," tears fell freely from my eyes. "And you have your own issues too, with your dad and your uncle... this is just too much for us right now, we're only kids," I was gasping for air, my brain fighting with my heart. "I hope you can understand it. And I really hope you don't hate me for it either."

Eddie didn't respond for a couple of seconds. I was waiting for the call to end.

"I could never hate you," was his only response. I knew there was more he wanted to say, but the longer I heard his voice, the longer I wanted to keep the conversation going, and I couldn't afford that. It was now or never.

"I love you, Eddie," I sobbed, my grip on the phone becoming weaker. It kept slipping from my fingers, the pain coming in waves through my chest. I was violently shaking in place and it wasn't due to the cold.

"I know," with that, he ended the call.

···

I stood there, my hands gripping the phone booth's panels as I cried. I was suddenly rethinking all my life choices, wondering if I had made the right decision. Flashbacks of all the time spent together flooded my mind, making me wish for the normal life I always complained about before we were all dragged into this mess.

And the worst part was, nobody knew about us.

The sudden noise of the school door opening and locking heavily distracted me. I wiped my tears off and walked around the building, finding Nancy and Jonathan about to get into their car, ready to drive away.

"Where are you going?" I called after them. They both turned around in shock.

"To finish what we started," Nancy had a fierce look on her face, although her eyes softened when she took in my puffy eyes, even despite the lack of light. "Are you okay?" she took a couple of steps towards me, grabbing my arm comfortingly.

I did the same to her, knowing her fury came in seeking revenge for her lost friend. "I've been better. Are you alright?" I asked her in return.

She shook her head slightly. "I'll be once this is over," she said. "Let's go," she gripped my arm and walked me towards an impatiently waiting Jonathan, who was ready to protest. "We need as many hands as we can get," she said as she opened the door, quickly getting inside the car and buckling herself up.

Jonathan cursed and hopped into the driver's seat. "What about the kids?" he asked as he put the key into the ignition.

A pang went through my chest at the thought of them, sitting alone at the gym, but knowing they would be safe there as we dealt with the Demogorgon ourselves, I shrugged. "They'll be fine. They have Eleven."

Needless to say, I was wrong.